Moving Back To IL

Seattle, Wash., is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. Located between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, and overlooking Elliott Bay, Seattle is nicknamed The Emerald City. The city is a damp green gem, with an abundance of evergreen trees throughout and spectacular views of the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic mountains to the west. Known for being the home of the Space Needle, Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon.com and Starbucks, not to mention grunge music and fashion, Seattle is also the home of a vibrant arts scene and an excellent park system.

Seattle boasts a number of museums including the Seattle Art Museum, Museum of Flight, the interactive Pacific Science Center and Experience Music Project, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The city is also home to many parks from Golden Gardens Park on the Puget Sound, which offers spectacular views of the sun setting over the Olympic mountain range on clear days and still allows bonfires on the beach, to serene Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill, home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum and a conservatory, to the 20-acre Japanese style Kubota Garden in South Seattle.

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2006 estimate, Boise’s population was 201,287, with a metro area estimated to contain 635,450 persons. Downtown Boise is at an elevation of 2,704 feet above sea level.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2006 estimate, Boise’s population was 201,287, with a metro area estimated to contain 635,450 persons. Downtown Boise is at an elevation of 2,704 feet above sea level.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2006 estimate, Boise’s population was 201,287, with a metro area estimated to contain 635,450 persons. Downtown Boise is at an elevation of 2,704 feet above sea level.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise

Grand Teton National Park, named for the tallest mountain—over 13,000 feet—in Jackson Hole, Wyoming’s Teton Range. With more than 200 miles of hiking trails, Grand Teton National Park makes up part of the Rocky Mountains.

Just south of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton celebrates nature daily. The Park’s most popular features are the Jackson Hole Valley, Burned Ridge (glacier) and the Snake River. The mountain climate contributes to a drastic temperature range in the area—from -43 degrees Fahrenheit to 93 degrees. In colonial times, the area served as a major hunting and fur-trading  grounds; but erosion and other geological factors have kept the mountains “under construction.”

Skip the zoo and get a close-up look at some of the park’s diverse plants and wildlife: moose, coyote, black bears, evergreens, reptiles, bison. Take a stroll along some of the park’s trails and enjoy being outdoors.

Yellowstone National Park gives the impression of a stew left on a low boil—full of geysers, hot springs and other thermal features—geological forces are constantly bubbling to the surface. Located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small areas in Utah and Montana, Yellowstone boasts thousands of years of history and lots of heat. Packed with over three hundred geysers and plenty of wildlife, the park is the ultimate destination for backpackers, bikers and families.

The expansive park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was the world’s first National Park when it was set aside in 1872. Dodge bears, elk, wolves and other beasts—just don’t stumble onto a geyser! Gawk in awe at Old Faithful, the park’s most famous geyser, which erupts about every 91 minutes. Camp out with the family or take a break at one of a dozen dining rooms, restaurants and snack bars.

Hoards of visitors descend on the park every year to see the park’s iconic wildlife. So many grizzly bears, elk and bison roam Yellowstone, even travelers who never leave their cars are likely to snap a photo of bison or bear, and for those willing to hike into the park’s interior, a glimpse of a wolf is a possibility. Despite the occasional crowds, the rugged beauty of the landscape and the richness of the area’s ecology mean few leave disappointed.  

Despite the many ways it has been parodied on screen from “Mars Attacks!” to Family Guy, Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota continues to stand as an important tribute to the American forefathers that attracts 2 million visitors per year.

The giant granite carving that cost almost $1 million and took more than a decade to complete features the heads and busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The site initially generated controversy, as it was seized from the Native American Lakota tribe and sculpted by Gutson Borglum, an active member of the Ku Klux Klan; but today the monument is considered a tribute to American history and leadership.

Get inside the presidents’ heads with a trip up into the chamber carved into the rock behind their faces, which contains copies of the Constitution and other documents. Hike along the Presidential Trail, pause to watch a movie about the monument’s history at the amphitheater at the Lincoln Borglum Museum and stick around till dusk for the evening lighting ceremony.

Its creepy name came from Native American and French descriptions translating to “lands bad” and “bad lands to travel.” But the spectacular scenery of the deep canyons and fragile spires, especially at sunrise and sunset, is well worth a visit.

Of all the national parks, the Badlands is the one that contains the largest size of protected prarie ecosystem. It’s also considered to be one of the richest mammal fossil beds in the world. Check out a prairie dog town, camp out under the stars, go horseback riding, hike any of the handful of trails, or visit the Big Pig Dig (the fossilized remains of an ancient pig-like mammal).

Springfield is the capital of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. As reported in the 2000 U.S. Census, the city was home to 111,454 people. The land on which Springfield is today was first settled in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The city was originally called “Calhoun” after Vice President John C. Calhoun; as public sentiment turned against Calhoun the city was renamed Springfield. Abraham Lincoln is one of the city’s most prominent past residents. He moved to the area in 1831 and lived in Springfield itself from 1837 until 1861. Former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant also lived briefly in Springfield in 1861. In 1908 a large race riot erupted in the city which culminated with the lynching of two African American residents.

The city lies on a mostly flat plain, and usually experiences hot summers and cold winters. Violent storms such as tornadoes are possible, although rare.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield%2C_Illinois